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Again, thanks for the patience. We ll be making future issues smaller ! Regards, Mark Editor ... Howdy! Welcome to the 54th Edition of the Mad Cowboy

Message 1 of 1
, Nov 2, 2006

Again, thanks for the patience. We'll be making future issues smaller !

Regards, Mark Editor

-------
Howdy! Welcome to the 54th Edition of the Mad Cowboy Newsletter. In
this issue we've a couple of surprises for y'all: 250 pictures taken
during Howard's recent trip to Africa and news that Howard's
Documentary will be aired at the famed Hollywood Egyptian Theater this
coming November as part of the "3rd Annual Artivist Film Festival &
Awards." Check out their website:

http://www.ARTIVISTS.org

There's also two great recipes from "No More Bull!" (one from Dr. T.
Colin Campbell), and 10 links to help you and yours have a Happy Veg'n
Halloween! As you read on, you'll see a buncha information in the Mad
Cow Corral covering "mad cow, mad sheep, mad honey, and mad deer"
issues, articles related to the recent spinach/e.coli crisis and
industrial farming, learn about an unusal and contempletive canine,
why New York City may become "less fatty," what Dr. Esselstyn says
about "moderation," an activist success story from "Compassion Over
Killing," and a reminder to celebrate World Vegan Day.

Amongst it all, there's also the article about fruit and vegetables
relationship to heart disease, a new study showing that a salad a day
(and raw vegetables) are "scientifically recommended," a detailed
article about how the Elephant Culture is showing signs of social
stress, where you can generate your own "McDonald's Sign Message," a
ton of articles referenced in our "Quick Bytes" section, a cite about
Asia's largest cat shelter going "vegan," and why there may be
different "shades of moo."

... and, as always, a tip of the hat to our new subscribers. Y'all
can read past issues of the newsletter at:

************************************************
*00: Quote(s) from Howard
************************************************
"According to Julie L. Gereberding, Director of the Centers for
Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), "Eleven of the last twelve
emerging infectious diseases that we're aware of in the world, that
have had human health consequences, have probablly arisen from animal
sources." We should not be surprised to learn this, as humans have a
long history of falling victim to diseases that afflicted animals
first. Measles and smallpox originated in cows, anthrax in wild
sheep, tuberculosis in goats, whooping cough in pigs, and typhoid
fever in chickesn. Other diseases that humans picked up from animnals
include yellow fever, bubonic plague, influenza, and leprosy.

Since animal agriculture poses many health threats that we are just
beginning to recognize, it's safe to assume that it poses others that
have thus far escaped scrutiny. Here's an example of one that
recently came to light: a University of Iowa study released in
December 2004 uncovered a serious link between hog farming and
incidence of asthma in children. The study found at least one
indicator of asthma in over 55 percent of children residing on hog
farms that use antibiotics in their feed. That's more than twice the
incidence in children on farms that do not raise hogs.

************************************************
*01: Mad Cowboy in Africa
************************************************
[In August, Howard, members of his family, and a friend, took an
extraordinary trip to Africa. Between Howard and his son-in-law, some
1200+ photographs were taken. 250 of them have been culled and are
available via the following webpage (as thumbnails with links), along
with the trip's itinerary and imbedded links for more information on
where they stayed, the cities, the animals, and the land:

THIS WEEK'S VEGAN MIND-BENDER:
"Of the 37 or so ingredients in a Chicken McNugget, roughly how many,
directly or indirectly, come from corn?

(a) 37 (b) 30 (c) 23 (d) 16

Please e-mail guesses to: webmaster@... with the word
"contest" in your subject line by NLT November 15, 2006.

[Many thanks to Joe Connelly, Editor, VegNews, who has offered a FREE
one-year subscription to a winner chosen at random those submitting
the correct answer to each MC Newsletter's Contest. Our thanks to
Joe, and you can learn more about VegNews at:

This soup is ready in 15 minutes and really packs a punch, providing
189 percent of your recommended vitamin C per serving. It's also
loaded with beta-carotene from the peppers, tomatoes, and orange
juice. Enjoy for lunches at work or a starter for dinner. Blend for
a creamier tomato soup.

Break the broccoli into bite-sized florets. Peel the stems and slice
them into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Steam until just tender, about 5
minutes. While the broccoli is steaming, whisk the dressing
ingredients in a serving bowl. Add the steamed broccoli and toss to
mix. Serve immediately.

************************************************
*05: Mad Cow Info Round-up
************************************************
CANADA FINDS 8TH CASE OF BSE: (08/23/06): "Canada has identified
its eighth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow
disease, just a few weeks after the seventh case. The illness was
found in an Alberta beef cow estimated to be between 8 and 10 years
old, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced. Given the
cow's age, it was probably exposed to the disease either before or
shortly after Canada banned the feeding of cattle protein to cattle
and other ruminants in 1997, the agency said. The cow was tested in
the course of Canada's BSE surveillance program, which targets
high-risk cattle.

USDA STILL PREVENTING ONE OF NATION'S LARGEST MEATPACKERS FROM TESTING
ITS CATTLE FOR MAD COW DISEASE: (09/13/06): "... [the] USDA can no
longer ignore the overwhelming public support for allowing companies
such as Creekstone Farms to voluntarily test all of its production.
Testing will give consumers at home and abroad added confidence in
U.S. beef and improve America's trade status with countries such as
South Korea and Japan. At the same time, USDA must apply its trade
policy fairly and reasonably, enabling facilities to export beef even
while those that fail inspections are held back temporarily. It is the
right thing to do; it will create U.S. jobs, grow our economy and help
us regain global market share."

MAD SHEEP -- THE USDA'S WAR ON SMALL FARMERS & CONSUMERS: (09/15/06):
"Foreword to the Book by Ronnie Cummins: ...Armed with $90 billion in
taxpayer money each year, the USDA is waging war against all of
usconsumers, family farmers, farm animals, and the environment. The
direct and collateral damage of this war includes rampant water, air,
and food pollution; an epidemic of cancer, birth defects, obesity, and
hormone disruption; pollution by genetically engineered crops; an
unsustainable, massive venting of climate-destabilizing greenhouse
gases; pesticide and antibiotic contamination; proliferation of junk
food; systematic exploitation of small farmers, farm workers, and
slaughterhouse workers; and the dumping of millions of tons of
subsidized crops and meat at below the cost of production on
developing nations, thereby destroying the livelihoods of millions of
small farmers and rural communities."

[The full foreward is well worth reading for more behind-the-scenes
descriptions of what Mr. Cummins, and to a similiar degree Howard,
have been through addressing these issues:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_2158.cfm

CASE OF MAD COW DISEASE FOUND IN FRANCE: (09/18/06): "A cow in
central France has tested positive for mad cow disease, the country's
fifth detected case this year, local authorities said. Local
veterinary chief Dominique Chabanet said Monday it was probably
infected by eating animal-based flour, before its use as cow feed was
banned in 1996. France has recorded a total of 15 cases of the human
form of the disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, since it first
appeared in 1996..."

[Edited from:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/143313.asp

US BEEF MAKING TENTATIVE RETURN TO NORTH ASIAN MARKET: (09/24/06):
"American beef is back in the Japanese market and slated to return to
South Korea soon. But for America's beef exporters, who lost two of
their three largest markets in 2003 after a few cases of mad cow
disease were discovered in the United States, it is going to be an
uphill struggle to rebuild their north Asian business. Ambassador
Thomas Schieffer has been heavily promoting U.S. beef to help American
exporters rebuild their nearly $1.5-billion annual business in Japan.
Amb. Thomas Schieffer being served American roast beef Amb. Thomas
Schieffer being served American roast beef The ambassador, leaving
another beef promotional lunch in downtown Tokyo, joked that his
cholesterol count must have soared in recent days after eating
American beef for nearly every meal. But he says what is important is
Japan's appetite for U.S. meat..."

EXPERT SAYS U.S. NEEDS TO BEEF UP PROTECTION OF FOOD SUPPLY:
(09/25/06): "The United States needs to continue taking steps to
protect its food supply from terrorism just as it would its buildings,
airports and other elements of its infrastructure, FBI deputy director
John S. Pistole said Monday. "The threat from agroterrorism may not
be widely recognized, but the threat is real and the impact could be
devastating," Pistole said. "The recent E. coli outbreak in California
spinach has captured the public attention even without a terror nexus.
Pistole, keynote speaker at the second International Symposium on
Agroterrorism, pointed to a nonterrorism example, a single case of mad
cow disease in the United States in 2003, to illustrate the potential
impact. The U.S. food and agriculture industry employs about one in
eight Americans and is important not only to Americans, but because of
its massive exports, to much of the world, as well, Pistole said.
"The bottom line is that agriculture, just like buildings, bridges and
tunnels, is a critical infrastructure in need of defense," he said."

U.S. BEEF GROUP SPENDS ON ADS, BARBECUES TO WOO JAPAN CONSUMERS:
(09/27/06): "The U.S. Meat Export Federation is running full page ads
in Japanese newspapers that cost as much as 79 million yen ($681,000)
each to convince consumers American beef is safe to eat. The biggest
supermarket chains don't buy it. Repairing the image of U.S. beef
after it was banned in Japan because of mad cow disease has fallen to
Philip Seng, the chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export
group, which has Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc. among its members.
He said in an interview the U.S. industry may have lost $5 billion
since Japan first imposed the ban in December 2003. The ad spending,
along with barbecue events and a new website are part of Seng's
strategy to convince Aeon Co. and Seven & I Holdings Co., Japan's two
biggest supermarket chains, to put U.S. beef back on the shelves after
the government lifted the ban in July. He says demand is growing and
supply shortages are a problem."

JAPANESE CONFIRM 29TH CASE OF MAD COW DISEASE: (09/28/06): "Japanese
authorities... have confirmed the country's 29th case of mad cow
disease. The Agriculture Ministry said tests had confirmed that a
75-month-old Holstein cow from a farm on the northern island of
Hokkaido had been infected with mad cow disease, also known as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). 'The cow will be incinerated so that
it will not be used as fodder or food for human beings,' the ministry
said in a written statement. The authorities run mad cow tests on all
animals to be slaughtered for consumption."

MAD COW BURGERS `KILLED MY SON': (09/29/06): "The mother of a man
who died from the human form of mad cow disease said she believes
burgers caused her son's illness. Margaret Marshall was speaking
after an inquest into the death of her 30-year-old son Stephen which
concluded he contracted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)
through eating contaminated beef. Mrs Marshall, from Richmond, North
Yorkshire, said the father of one had probably become infected 10
years before, when he used to eat burgers regularly. She said: "I
think it was from when he was about 18 or 19, when he was travelling
about a lot. He used to live on burgers." She added: "It's a
devastating illness, I would not wish it on anybody." Mr Marshall was
diagnosed with vCJD last December. He died in March... Earlier this
year, British scientists said the number of people infected could be
far higher than originally thought because of a longer incubation
period. They believe the time between infection with BSE and
developing vCJD could be more than 50 years."

[Edited from:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006450354,00.html

SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS BILL THAT ENDS SECRECY ABOUT MEAT RECALLS:
(10/02/06): "California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a
bill, SB 611 (Speier), that allows California public health officers
to notify the public of the names of retailers that receive
USDA-recalled meat and poultry, so that consumers can better protect
themselves from food-borne illnesses. In 2002, California's
Department of Health Services (DHS) signed a secrecy agreement with
USDA, agreeing not to release the names of the stores and restaurants
where tainted, USDA-recalled beef and poultry have been shipped and
sold. Federal and California state agencies maintain that secrecy is
necessary in order to protect the proprietary interests of the beef
and poultry industries. But eighty percent of Californians believe
that the public should be told the names of retail stores and
restaurants that receive and sell potentially contaminated,
USDA-recalled beef and poultry, according to a 2006 Field Research
Corporation survey."

[Very edited from:
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1002-05.htm

ELK EQUIVALENT OF "MAD COW DISEASE" A CONCERN IN IDAHO: (10/02/06):
"Fish and Game officials are looking for four domestic elk believed to
be ear-tagged and roaming near the town of Chubbuck, Idaho. It's not
known where the elk came from, but it's raising more questions about
the security of farm-raised elk and what could happen should they come
into contact with wild elk. This latest case comes on the heels of
another high-profile escape last month. When more than 100 domestic
elk took off from a hunting reserve in Eastern Idaho, Gov. Jim Risch
ordered that they be shot on sight. The fear was that they might
pollute the wild elk gene pool and possibly spread disease, most
notably the deer and elk equivalent of mad cow disease. There is
still a lot unknown about Chronic Wasting Disease, the brain disorder
that kills deer and elk. Researchers still don't know what causes it
or exactly how the disease is transmitted among animals. It hasn't
shown up in Idaho yet, but because of the severity of the disease,
state wildlife officials aren't taking any chances. Since about
2002, [the USDA] has required that all domestic elk be tested for
Chronic Wasting Disease when they die... To date, there is no proof
that any humans have been infected by CWD. However, scientists still
do not understand the potential risk it poses to public health."

MEXICO EASES MAD-COW BAN TO ALLOW U.S. DAIRY HEIFERS: (10/04/06):
"Mexico is resuming imports of U.S. dairy heifers, lifting a ban
imposed in December 2003 when the U.S. found its first case of mad-cow
disease, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said... Under the
agreement, exported animals must be under 24 months of age, the
Agriculture Department said in a statement. The heifers will be
individually identified as they leave the U.S. as part of Mexico's
mad-cow surveillance program... "My goal is to restore the
once-vibrant live cattle commerce between the U.S. and Mexico and to
do so in accordance with science-based international guidelines,''
Johanns said in the statement. He called the agreement on dairy
heifers a "first step'' in that process.

MAD DEER DISEASE MAY SPREAD WITH SALIVA/BLOOD: (10/05/06): "Deer
probably spread a brain-destroying illness called chronic wasting
disease through their saliva, concludes a study that finally pins down
a long-suspected culprit. Chronic wasting disease is in the same
family of fatal brain illnesses as mad cow disease and its human
equivalent. There is no evidence that people have ever caught chronic
wasting disease from infected deer or elk. But CWD is unusual
because, unlike its very hard-to-spread relatives, it seems to spread
fairly easily from animal to animal. Scientists were not sure how,
primarily because studying large wild animals is a logistical
nightmare. The sheer stress of researchers handling a deer caught in
the wild could kill it.

Is it spread through shared salt licks? Or by drooling onto grass or
into streams? Studying environmental contamination by infectious
proteins, called prions, that cause CWD is among Hoover's next steps.
"It's very likely they could be shedding a lot of saliva" shortly
before death, noted Richard Race, a veterinarian who studies CWD at
the National Institutes of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
"Saliva's a good bet."

[See also: "Scientists Find Blood, Saliva Can Be Common Channels For
Infection Between Animals:"
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4449588

IOWA COMPANY INSISTS MEAT RECALLED FOR POSSIBLE E. COLI IS SAFE:
(10/07/06): "The owner of an Iowa meat company says the federal
government has needlessly requested that he recall 5,200 pounds of
meat that he claims is safe and has likely already been consumed by
thousands of people across seven states. Jim Goeser, owner of Jim's
Market and Locker Inc., said tests have negated the government's claim
that his meat may have the same E. coli strain responsible for three
deaths in the recent outbreak of contaminated spinach. Goeser said he
voluntarily issued the recall Friday after federal inspectors
questioned the testing methods used by a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Neb.
No illnesses have been reported and none likely will, he said. E.
coli lives in the intestines of cattle and other animals and typically
is linked to contamination by fecal material. It's believed
responsible for about 60 deaths and 73,000 infections a year in the
United States."

[Edited from:
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15704817.htm

TAIWAN HALTS CANADIAN BEEF FROM U.S.: (10/09/06): "Taiwan is no
longer accepting imports of Canadian beef products from the United
States, according to a news release from R-CALF USA. The Billings,
Mont., advocacy group said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food
Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday issued updated export
requirements for Taiwan regarding fresh and frozen boneless beef
derived from Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. Effective
Monday, Oct. 9, beef products derived from cattle imported from Canada
for immediate slaughter are not eligible for export to Taiwan,
according to the news release from the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal
Fund, United Stockgrowers of America."

DENMARK REPORTS FIRST CASE OF LETHAL SCRAPIE ANIMAL DISEASE:
(10/12/06): "Denmark reported its first case of scrapie, a lethal
disease affecting sheep and goats which is related to mad cow disease.
A crippled animal in Kjellerup in Viborg County was confirmed to have
died of an atypical form of scrapie last month, Preben Willeberg,
Denmark's chief veterinary officer, said in a report to the World
Organization for Animal Health. The report didn't say whether a sheep
or goat was infected. The animal was more than 10 years old and the
source of its infection is unknown, according to the report, which was
received by the Paris-based organization this week. Another 17 animals
were susceptible to infection and the affected property has been
quarantined, it said. Scrapie is a degenerative disease that affects
the central nervous system. Scientists believe that the feeding of
rendered scrapie-infected livestock in the form of meatmeal to cattle
in the U.K. in the late 1970s and 1980s caused the emergence of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. The disease, also known as mad cow
disease, has been linked with the fatal brain-wasting disease, variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob, in humans."

US SENATOR SEEKS OKING BLANKET BSE TESTS FOR EXPORTS TO JAPAN:
(10/12/06): "U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., has sent a letter to U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns urging him to allow beef producers
to conduct blanket testing for mad-cow disease for their exports to
Japan and other countries, according to a copy of the letter made
available Thursday, Kyodo News reported. "This is vital to regaining
U.S. market share in Japan, South Korea and other markets critical to
U.S. beef suppliers," Bunning said in the letter dated last Friday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture restricts testing to its own
program, banning voluntary testing despite repeated requests for
permission from some American meat processors so they can test all
cattle for beef exports, especially to Japan to satisfy consumers
there. Japan conducts blanket testing on all slaughtered cattle. But
the U.S. tests only a small proportion of the total cattle herd
because the USDA program is designed to statistically check the
prevalence of the disease."

RESEARCHERS DETECT CWD IN HEART MUSCLE OF ELK AND WHITE-TAILED DEER:
(10/13/06): "Chronic wasting disease for the first time has been
found in the heart muscle of white-tailed deer and elk, according to
researchers in the University of Wyoming's College of Agriculture.
The finding is important to wildlife managers, hunters and scientists
because the cardiac muscle -- which comprises meat -- of big-game
animals susceptible to CWD is consumed by humans. Hunters, however,
should not be alarmed, said Jean Jewell, a research scientist in the
UW Department of Veterinary Sciences. "There is a tendency for people
to become alarmed when they hear something that makes them think their
health might be at risk, but at this stage there is no evidence to
suggest humans are susceptible to CWD," Jewell said. That does not
mean hunters shouldn't take precautions, according to the Wyoming Game
and Fish Department (G&F). They are advised not to kill or eat animals
that appear sick, and it is recommended they wear long, disposable
rubber or latex gloves when field dressing animals."

JAPANESE RULES PROMPT CATTLE ID TAG USE: (10/15/06): "Japanese
consumers aren't just asking, "Where's the beef?" They want to know:
"Where's the beef from?" That question is proving to be a good
opportunity for cattle businesses to test a new national system for
tracking animals that federal officials hope to have operative on a
voluntary basis by 2009. The Japanese government is making sure that
any U.S. beef it imports can be traced to its origins and comes from
cows not more than 20 months old. The strict protocol stems from the
December 2003 find of a Washington state cow that tested positive for
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. As a
result, 52 countries, including Japan, banned U.S. beef. That cow
eventually was traced to Canada. In the United States, the tags are
part of the first phase of a National Animal Identification System the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Florida Department of Agriculture
and the livestock industry are developing. The program, which will
allow tracking of animals through the system from farm to feedlot and
slaughterhouse, is slated to be implemented on a widespread voluntary
basis by 2009."

QUEBEC FARMER SEEKING PERMISSION FOR CLASS ACTION OVER MAD COW CRISIS:
(10/16/06):
"Ottawa and a multinational feed company knew how to prevent the
spread of mad cow disease a decade before BSE showed up in Canadian
cattle but they did nothing, says a Quebec farmer who is trying to
initiate a class action lawsuit against both. Their negligence and
inaction led to the crisis that saw international borders closed to
Canadian beef, costing Quebec farmers between $6 billion and $7
billion and Canadian farmers overall up to $20 billion, alleges the
lawsuit filed by Donald Berneche. "The respondents are responsible
for the present mad cow crisis due to their inaction and negligence,"
says the suit. "Since the end of the 80s, the beginning of the 1990s,
worldwide its been known how BSE is spread, which is basically through
ruminant meat and bone meal," Berneche's lawyer, Gilles Gareau, told
reporters outside the courtroom. "Stop feeding (it) to cows. It's as
simple as that." Great Britain banned ruminant meat and bone meal, or
animal parts, in its cattle feed in 1988. "Here in Canada we waited
until 1997 to do that," Gareau said."

MAD COW DISEASE FOUND IN RUSSIA NEAR THE EU BORDER: (10/18/06): "A
case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease has
been discovered in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad between Poland
and Lithuania, the Federal Control Service for Consumer Rights said.
"A case of mad cow disease was detected in the town of Razdolnoye in
the Nesterovski region," near the Lithuanian border, it said in a
press release. "The two people who had contact with the animal have
received vaccinations," it added, saying that authorities are "taking
measures designed to eliminate the source of the disease." In July
2005, Moscow announced it had found around 10 cases of mad cow disease
in four farms in Mordovia, in the eastern European area of Russia."

[Edited from:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/149235.asp

EU WILL COMMENT ON HUMAN RISK FROM PRION DISEASE: (10/18/06):
"Europe's top food safety agency will give its views next month on
whether a fatal brain-wasting disease, similar to mad cow disease,
might threaten human health if transmitted form sheep and goats, its
executive director said on Wednesday. Earlier this year, two sheep in
France and one in Cyprus, were suspected of being infected with bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection, also known as mad cow
disease. A final series of tests is continuing and should be completed
next year. Scrapie belongs to a family of diseases known as TSEs
(transmissible spongiform encephalopathy) and characterised by a
degeneration of brain tissue giving a sponge-like appearance. While
no case of BSE has ever been confirmed as naturally occurring in
sheep, there are fears that some sheep diagnosed as having scrapie --
not known to be harmful to humans -- might be carrying the other
brain-wasting disease."

[Edited from:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2584619

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO SURVIVE: (10/23/06): "In his new book The
Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery, science writer D.T. Max
explores the strange world of prions and their connections to
cannibalism, fatal insomnia and hamburgers. Max talked about his
findings with Wired News. [excerpts:

WN: What do you make of food safety in the United States when it comes
to prion diseases?

Max: The USDA does as poor a job as you could imagine. I've never seen
an organization that seems more determined to not find what it's in
charge of exploring..."

WN: Are you a vegetarian?

Max: I don't eat cheap hamburger. When I learned it was comprised of
hundreds of thousands of body parts and when I learned how it was
blown off the bones of the cow and steer, I just decided I didn't
quite have the stomach for it anymore."

OHIO EXPANDS TESTS OF DEER FOR DISEASE: (10/24/06): "Ohio is
changing its method of testing white-tailed deer for a deadly
neurological disease. The state will test 1,500 Ohio deer this fall
for chronic wasting disease and for the first time will include deer
killed on roads, said Dave Risley of the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources' Division of Wildlife. That's a boost from 2005 when Ohio
tested about 700 deer from both hunters' check-in stations and
deer-processing facilities. That testing effort will cover the entire
state although it will be more intense in eastern Ohio where deer
concentrations are higher and the chronic wasting disease threat are
greater, Risley said."

[Edited from:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15834549.htm

SCIENTISTS WARN OF 'MAD HONEY DISEASE': (09/10/06): "Mad honey
disease is among the rarest afflictions in the world, but it appears
to be on the increase. Only 58 cases have been reported worldwide,
but eight people were treated in 2005 alone. The trend towards eating
more natural products may be driving a rise in cases of the disease,
whose symptoms can include convulsions, low blood pressure, fainting
and temporary heart problems, according to a new report. "Mad honey
disease has the potential to cause death if untreated," say the
researchers. "Because of the increasing preference for natural
products, intoxication induced by consumption of honey will increase
in the future."

Just a spoonful of the wrong honey can cause problems, according to
researchers, who report their findings this week in the American
Journal of Emergency Medicine. Mad honey poisoning is most prevalent
in honey from the Black Sea region of Turkey. Compounds called
grayanotoxins, found in the nectar of rhododendrons, mountain laurels
and azaleas, are thought to be responsible for the disease. Though
harmless to bees, they are psychoactive and poisonous to humans.
Affected honey is said to have a very bitter taste.

************************************************
*06: Spinach/E.coli/Pigs - Sick Industrial Food, Farm System
************************************************
SPINACH E. COLI OUTBREAK DECLARED OVER WITH 3 DEAD: (10/26/06): "A
deadly outbreak of spinach-borne E. coli that killed three people has
ended after sickening 204 people in 26 U.S. states and Canada, federal
and California investigators said today. The investigation continues
to examine four farms in Monterey and San Benito counties in
California, Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services with
the California Department of Health Services, said in a conference
call with reporters. The fields under investigation grow conventional,
rather than organic, spinach, and all of the illnesses came from one
day's production, he said. Investigators using DNA tests have now
matched nine E. coli samples taken from one ranch to the outbreak. The
ranch previously had positive tests for the bacteria in cow droppings,
Riley said. The new samples came from a creek, the guts of a wild pig
killed on the property and additional cow droppings. Investigators
found other strains of the virulent bacterium known as E. coli 0157:H7
on two of the three other ranches. All of the bacteria came from the
droppings of grass-fed cattle, rather than feedlots, Riley said."

PIGS SOURCE OF SPINACH E COLI OUTBREAK: (10/28/06): "Investigators
say a wild pigs were very likely the source of a spinach E. Coli
outbreak that caused the death of three people and made over 200
people ill in the USA and Canada. The investigators have found six new
samples of the E. Coli strain that match those of the tainted spinach
on a ranch in California. The ranch is located in Monterey and San
Benito counties. Two samples came from a wild pig (wild boar) that
was killed on the ranch, while the other four came from cattle in the
same ranch, according to the California Department of Health Services.
Investigators say the pigs probably spread the bacteria into the
spinach fiends through their droppings (excrement). However, so far,
no one really knows how the bacteria made it way to the spinach farm.

Dr. Kevin Reilly, from the California Department of Health Services,
said "Clearly, we have positive results on one property that are
helping to refine our investigation. We have not closed any
possibilities on three other ranches, but the information is
accumulating that our environmental findings are consistent on this
one property." Reilly added "Animals, wildlife and water were in
close proximity to the field. We have evidence for fences torn down,
wildlife going into the actual spinach fields themselves. That's where
the investigation is centered right now. There's clear evidence that
the pig population has access and goes onto the fields. Is that the
ultimate means of contamination or is that one potential means,
including water and wildlife? We're still investigating that."

MASS-PROCESSED FOODS MORE EASILY CONTAMINATED: (09/23/06): "In the
spring and summer of 1982, McDonald's held a special promotion -- two
burgers for the price of one -- that led to the first reported
outbreak of a food-borne bacterial infection that now sweeps the
nation with some regularity. That year, at least 47 people in Oregon
and Michigan, most of whom took advantage of the promotion, fell ill
with severe abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Doctors and public
health investigators were spooked -- they'd never seen anything like
it. A year later, after months of investigation by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, investigators were able to identify
the infection. It was a common bacterium, one that microbiologists had
long known to live in human intestinal tracts with mostly harmless,
and sometimes even helpful, results.

The bacterium was E. coli, but this was a rare strain that had
mutated. It had attached itself to a virus, and that virus made people
very sick. Today, that same strain, called 0157:H7, sickens hundreds
if not thousands of Americans every year, and is the source of the
latest epidemic linked to bagged fresh spinach that has sickened 166
people so far, one of whom died. "At the time of that (1982)
outbreak, there was no knowledge that E. coli could cause a disease
like this, so nobody believed it," said Lee Riley, a professor of
infectious disease and epidemiology at UC Berkeley who was one of the
lead investigators for the CDC in the McDonald's case and an author of
the first paper published on E. coli in the New England Journal of
Medicine. "The outbreak occurred because the restaurants were having
these promotions and going through a lot of hamburgers," Riley said.
"It's the mass consumption of meat and the way it's processed and
delivered and distributed that made it possible for this E. coli to
spread."

TAINTED SPINACH ANOTHER SIGN OF SICK FOOD, FARM SYSTEM: (09/25/06):
"The deadly E. coli outbreak in bagged spinach should make us rethink
our farming practices and reinvigorate our regulatory system.
Food-borne outbreaks are due, in part, to corporate agribusiness
practices, according to infectious disease specialists like Professor
Lee Riley at the University of California-Berkeley... For instance,
livestock that are force-fed grain in confinement have up to 300 times
more pathogenic bacteria in their guts as compared to grass-fed
cattle, according to researchers from Cornell University. Other
studies have found similar results. California, which boasts of its
new status as the No. 1 dairy state, is awash in factory-farm manure.
This manure enters the food chain when it runs off into channels
designed to irrigate vegetables or when it blows onto nearby produce
fields. Unfortunately, proper manure disposal rarely occurs in
large-scale livestock confinement operations. The upshot is a
nightmarish landscape of leaking lagoons, tainted wells, fish kills,
debilitated farmworkers and poisoned food. Food safety began to
deteriorate in the United States under President Clinton.

Public oversight shifted to ineffectual, feel-good self-policing
programs. Under President Bush, this deregulation of our food and farm
system has only accelerated. Recent budget and staff cuts at the
federal level have left the majority of food-safety inspection and
enforcement in the hands of city, county and state agencies.
Ironically, the Bush administration is now trying to railroad through
Congress the National Uniformity for Food Act, which would take away
this local control over food safety and labeling... Our agricultural
system deserves a thorough democratic cleansing with consumer
right-to-know labeling, tough antitrust action, corporate liability
measures and serious incentives for viable alternatives. We must
safeguard our food supply not just from terrorists, but from dangerous
farming practices."

[Very edited from:
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_4394305

THE VEGETABLE-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: (10/15/06): "... But these days,
the way we farm and the way we process our food, both of which have
been industrialized and centralized over the last few decades, are
endangering our health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimate that our food supply now sickens 76 million Americans every
year, putting more than 300,000 of them in the hospital, and killing
5,000. The lethal strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, responsible for
this latest outbreak of food poisoning, was unknown before 1982; it is
believed to have evolved in the gut of feedlot cattle. These are
animals that stand around in their manure all day long, eating a diet
of grain that happens to turn a cow's rumen into an ideal habitat for
E. coli 0157:H7. (The bug can't survive long in cattle living on
grass.) Industrial animal agriculture produces more than a billion
tons of manure every year, manure that, besides being full of nasty
microbes like E. coli 0157:H7 (not to mention high concentrations of
the pharmaceuticals animals must receive so they can tolerate the
feedlot lifestyle), often ends up in places it shouldn't be, rather
than in pastures, where it would not only be harmless but also
actually do some good. To think of animal manure as pollution rather
than fertility is a relatively new (and industrial) idea..."

[Very very edited from from the excellent essay/article by Michael
Pollan at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/magazine/15wwln_lede.html?em&ex=1161316800&en=59c7751ffa65d98a&ei=5087%0A

************************************************
*07: NYC<Fatty, Salad Day, Fruit/Veggies<HD, US-Backed Killer Diet
************************************************
A LESS FATTY NEW YORK CITY?: (09/26/06): "New York City has taken a
bold step in the fight against obesity and heart disease. Today the
New York City Department of Health announced a proposal to ban all
trans fats from New York restaurants. A public hearing is scheduled
for Oct. 30. It also announced that all restaurants that list
nutritional information must include calories. Trans fats are found
in many types of cooking oils used in the preparation of doughnuts,
french fries and pastries. The Food and Drug Administration has
required that food labels list trans fats since Jan. 1, 2006. Trans
fats include margarine, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,
partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening and shortening. New York
had already instituted a voluntary ban on trans fats, but 30 to 60
percent of restaurants in the city refused to make the switch. New
York is the first city to make the ban citywide, but Chicago is also
considering the measure. The only other large ban is in North
Carolina, where trans fats have been banned from all school foods.
Trans fats have been linked to elevated cholesterol and to an
increased risk of heart disease.

"This is an extremely important step for public health," said Michael
Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. "If implemented nationwide, a ban on partially hydrogenated
fats -- trans fats -- could save an estimated 50,000 lives a year."

[Edited from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2494843&page=1

EAT A SALAD A DAY: (09/01/06): "A new UCLA/Louisiana State
University study of dietary data on more than 17,500 men and women
finds consumption of salad and raw vegetables correlates with higher
concentrations of folic acid, vitamins C and E, lycopene and alpha and
beta carotene in the bloodstream. Published in the September edition
of the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the
study also suggests that each serving of salad consumed correlates
with a 165 percent higher likelihood of meeting recommended dietary
allowances (RDA) for vitamin C in women and 119 percent greater
likelihood in men.

The study is the first to examine the relationship between normal
salad consumption and nutrient levels in the bloodstream, and also the
first to examine the dietary adequacy of salad consumption using the
latest nutritional guidelines of the Food and Nutrition Board of the
National Academy of Sciences. "The findings endorse consumption of
salad and raw vegetables as an effective strategy for increasing
intake of important nutrients. Unfortunately, we also found daily
salad consumption is not the norm in any group, and is even less
prevalent among African Americans," [Lenore Arab, visiting professor
of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health] said. "In fact,
our findings suggest that eating just one serving of salad or raw
vegetables per day significantly boosts the likelihood of meeting the
recommended daily intake of certain nutrients."

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES CUT HEART ATTACK RISK, SAYS STUDY: (09/27/06):
"Every extra of fruit or vegetable consumed daily could cut the risk
of heart disease by four percent, says a meta-analysis of almost a
quarter of a million people, giving people even more reason to seek
out the nutrient-rich foods. The meta-analysis by scientists from
France's INSERM in Paris, Lille's Pasteur Institute, and Rouen's
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, pooled nine cohort
studies giving an overall study population of 91,379 men, 129,701
women, and 5,007 coronary heart disease events.

The analysis, published in the current issue of the Journal of
Nutrition (Vol. 136, pp. 2588-2593), found that the risk of coronary
heart disease (CHD), conditions that cause of 20 per cent of deaths in
the US and 17 per cent of deaths in Europe, was cut by four per cent
for each additional fruit and vegetable portion consumed, and by seven
per cent for fruit portion intake.

U. S. GOVERNMENT BACKED KILLER DIET: (09/18/06): "The food
industry, the drug industry, leading academics bought up by those two
industries, and government are working together to perpetuate a diet
that is the great killer of our time, leading to the accelerating
epidemic of heart disease, stroke diabetes, and other chronic
diseases. This means government, under the influence of powerful
lobbies, is saying to the American people that a diet sure to kill and
sicken by the millions is good for you. Dr. Colin T. Campbell, one of
the world's leading authorities on nutrition science, says that the
killer diet is rich in "animal products, dairy and meat, refined
sugar, and fat... Why are we headed to a needless, incredibly
destructive epidemic of chronic diseases? The saddest part of the
story is that this disastrous scenario could easily be avoided by a
change of the national diet from animal to plant food. Dr. Campbell
is not only one of the most eminent nutrition scientists in the world,
but also conducted the most comprehensive study of the diet/health
connection in history. He reports his study and lifetime of research
in his book, The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight
loss and Long-Term Health (2006)..."

[See also: "Expert: Ag Policies Make Some Fatter: The agricultural
policies of the world's top producing nations are contributing to the
increasing problem of obesity in developing nations:."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4164159.html

************************************************
*08: Accent on the Moo, Bow-omm, Sign-o-Matic, Safety Singing
************************************************
MOO-AR!: (09/23/06): "Phonetics experts have backed up dairy
farmers' claims that cows moo with regional accents. Dairy farmers in
Somerset noticed a local twang to the sounds made by their animals,
reports the Guardian. John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the
University of London, said: "This phenomena is well attested in birds.
You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the
country. "This could also be true of cows. In small populations such
as herds you would encounter identifiable dialectical variations which
are most affected by the immediate peer group." The phenomenon was
noticed by members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group,
who put it down to the close bond between farmer and cow. The group
has also noted similar accent shifts in Midlands, Essex, Norfolk and
Lancashire moos. Farmer Lloyd Green of Glastonbury said: "I spend a
lot of time with my ones and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl."

BOW-OMMM: (09/13/06): "Dog takes up yoga: A three year old German
Shepherd dog has reportedly taken up yoga in India. Hritik practices
traditional exercises under the watchful eyes of his trainer in
Ranchi, reports the Mumbai Mirror. Nanda Dulal said: "He was weak
when he was born. We took special care of him and he gradually became
strong after his yoga lessons. "He started imitating me two years
ago, and now sits beside me when I perform yoga. He follows my
asanas(yoga techniques) including my breathing. "When I found that he
wanted to do yoga I started training him. Now both of us do yoga
together every morning." It is reported that the animal helps in
household chores, is a vegetarian and loves to eat ripe papayas and
cucumber. When asked if he would teach yoga to other dogs, Dulal
said: "Right now, I have no such plans.

RONALD MCHUMMER SIGN-O-MATIC: (09/2006): "This month McDonald's is
giving away toy Hummers  42 million of them, in eight models and
colors  with every Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal. That's right: The
fast-food chain that helped make our kids the fattest on Earth is now
selling future car buyers on the fun of driving a supersized,
smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV originally built for the military. Use
the Ronald McHummer Sign-O-Matic to tell us what you think of this
misguided marriage of two icons of American excess."

[from:
http://www.ronaldmchummer.com/

SINGING FOR SAFETY: (10/08/06): "Expert parodies tunes to warn of
food dangers: Carl Winter, a food toxicologist at the University of
California at Davis, has spent his career studying and teaching the
ways food can make people sick. Over the past 10 years, the amateur
musician has been writing humorous lyrics to popular songs to convey
critical messages, such as keeping cold foods cold and cooking meat to
high temperatures. The Beatles, the Drifters and the Village People
are among artists subjected to Winter's musical revisions. His
parodies are peppered with clever lyrics about bacteria,
gastroenteritis, hepatitis and mad cow disease."

[Listen and watch some of Carl's efforts at the "Food Safety Music
Homepage":
http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/

************************************************
*09: World Vegan Day, Crocker Goes Veg, Esselstyn, Meaty Args
************************************************
WORLD VEGAN DAY IS FAST APPROACHING: (10/26/06): "November 1st is
World Vegan Day, a global celebration of a healthy and compassionate
lifestyle free from all animal products. More and more people are
embracing this way of life, as much because of concerns over the
health problems and environmental destruction associated with eating
meat, as animal welfare. [Among the] reasons to go vegan will give
you food for thought:

- You'll save animals' lives: 30 million day-old male chicks are
gassed or mined alive every year because they cannot produce eggs.
Male calves born to dairy herds are 'surplus' to the industry. Many
are shot, others are sent on punishing journeys to continental veal
farms. - Cows' milk contains a cocktail of hormones, chemicals,
antibiotics, fat and droplets of blood and pus from weeping, infected
udders. - Vegans have been shown to live longer and have a lower risk
of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers than meat-eaters.

BETTY CROCKER GETS ON VEGETARIAN BANDWAGON: (09/17/06): "With the
familiar signature on the cover of a new cookbook, "Betty Crocker Easy
Everyday Vegetarian" (Wiley, 2006, $24.95), the generic Betty Crocker
now offers about 200 recipes for family-style meatless dishes. As
always, the style is "from her family to yours." The recipes cater to
hunger pangs of varying urgency ranging from snacks, bites and
nibbles, through wraps and pizza, to pot pies, soups, stews and
chilies. The adjectives "oriental" and "Mediterranean," the worldly
use of "Moroccan" and "Indian" in recipe titles proves awareness of
today's far-flung acceptance of once-exotic tastes. But the recipes
keep practicality in mind, and make use of canned or packaged
ingredients where that suits the day's menu. Each recipe includes
preparation and cooking times, and the book is sprinkled with color
photos."

INTERVIEW WITH DR. ESSELSTYN: (10/2006): "Vegetarians in Paradise
proudly presents its 24 Carrot Award to Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr.,
M.D. , renowned physician and surgeon. Since 1985 Dr. Esselstyn has
conducted the longest running study that proves heart disease can be
arrested or reversed by a low fat, plant-based diet. Results of his
study will be described in his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
to be published in 2007." [excerpt:

VIP: You use the phrase "moderation kills." Could you explain what
that means?

CE: Moderation kills is a phrase I use to emphasize to patients the
importance of total nutritional adherence. I cannot stress this point
enough. The only reason we succeed where others may fail is attention
to detail. The data are now so powerful that even a single meal of
added fat will injure the delicate endothelial cells' capacity to
manufacture nitric oxide. This function is critical in the restoration
of cardiovascular health. You wake up every day and make a simple
decision: either I am going to enhance or injure my cardiovascular
system today.

VIP: If a person resolves to improve his/her health and lose weight at
the same time, what initial dietary measures would you recommend?

CE: To improve health and lose weight I'd encourage fully plant based
nutrition without any animal products or oils. Avoid processed white
flour. To aggressively lose weight, it is helpful to decrease or
eliminate the grains (cereals, bread, pasta) and white potatoes. This
allows total focus on nutrient rich green leafy vegetables, green
vegetables, all other colorful vegetables, legumes and 2-3 servings of
fruit daily. Avoid fruit juices but drink plenty of water and exercise
regularly."

MEATY ARGUMENTS: (08/21/06): "In The Bloodless Revolution, published
today by HarperCollins, Tristram Stuart considers the history of
vegetarianism in our society from its origins in the collision of
ethical ideas of abstinence, early medicine and Indian philosophy...
Amazingly, three of Europe's most important early seventeenth-century
philosophers - Descartes, Gassendi and Francis Bacon - all advocated
vegetarianism. At no time before or since has vegetarianism been
endorsed by such a formidable array of intellectuals, and by the 1700s
their pioneering work had blossomed into a powerful movement of
scientific vegetarianism.... The remarkable and long under-appreciated
lives of early vegetarians are inroads into uncharted areas of
history; they simultaneously shed light on why you think about nature
the way you do, why you are told to eat fresh vegetables and avoid too
much meat, and how Indian philosophy has crucially shaped those
thoughts over the past 400 years."

************************************************
*10: No Egg Logo, Foie Gras Fight, Elephant Stress, Cats Go Vegan
************************************************
CATS GO VEGAN IN ASIA'S BIGGEST FELINE SHELTER: (08/16/06): "In
Asia's biggest shelter for rescued cats, the feline inmates are
turning vegetarian these days, thanks to animal lovers who import
alternative Italian food for the furry laptops. These days the cats
in Karunakunj, a centre for rescued animals near here run by the
Compassionate Crusaders Trust (CCT), are getting addicted to an
Italian food which is completely vegetarian. 'To avoid serving
non-veg food to cats some of our animal-loving patrons thought that we
should try to find out an alternative vegetarian food which can
provide cats required nourishment and at the same time save innocent
lives of other animals,' said Debasis Chakraborti, founder of CCT, a
strategic partner of Maneka Gandhi's People for Animals (PFA). This
dietary change, launched last week, was inspired by the principle of
non-violence advocated by the Jain religion."
[Edited from:
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20060816/18656.htm

AN ELEPHANT CRACKUP?: (10/08/06): "...in "Elephant Breakdown," a 2005
essay in the journal Nature, Bradshaw and several colleagues argued
that today's elephant populations are suffering from a form of chronic
stress, a kind of species-wide trauma. Decades of poaching and culling
and habitat loss, they claim, have so disrupted the intricate web of
familial and societal relations by which young elephants have
traditionally been raised in the wild, and by which established
elephant herds are governed, that what we are now witnessing is
nothing less than a precipitous collapse of elephant culture. It has
long been apparent that every large, land-based animal on this planet
is ultimately fighting a losing battle with humankind. And yet
entirely befitting of an animal with such a highly developed
sensibility, a deep-rooted sense of family and, yes, such a good
long-term memory, the elephant is not going out quietly. It is not
leaving without making some kind of statement, one to which scientists
from a variety of disciplines, including human psychology, are now
beginning to pay close attention...

...Elephants, when left to their own devices, are profoundly social
creatures. A herd of them is, in essence, one incomprehensibly massive
elephant: a somewhat loosely bound and yet intricately interconnected,
tensile organism. Young elephants are raised within an extended,
multitiered network of doting female caregivers that includes the
birth mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends. These relations are
maintained over a life span as long as 70 years... When an elephant
dies, its family members engage in intense mourning and burial
rituals, conducting weeklong vigils over the body, carefully covering
it with earth and brush, revisiting the bones for years afterward,
caressing the bones with their trunks, often taking turns rubbing
their trunks along the teeth of a skull's lower jaw, the way living
elephants do in greeting."

[Edited from the long, fascinating & comprehensive article about the
social behavior of elephants as well as their growing aggression to
human encroachment:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08elephant.html?ex=1162094400&en=8e823134e605f346&ei=5070

THE FOIE GRAS FIGHT IS OFFICIALLY ON: (08/21/06): "For some chefs
here in Chicago, the foie gras fight is officially on. Starting on
Tuesday, the gourmet delicacy is off the menu when a city-wide ban
goes into effect. Chicago will be the first city in the nation to go
foie gras-free. But chefs who are stewing over what they call a
frivolous city law are planning to take action. A lawsuit is ready and
attorneys will file it first thing Tuesday morning. CBS 2's Mai
Martinez reports some restaurant owners are cooking up a way to try to
keep the delicacy on their menus. The ordinance passed the City
Council with overwhelming support (48-1) but not everyone is a fan.
Ald. Moore says the mayor's office will decide how this law is
ultimately enforced, and they will likely rely on citizen complaints.
More than a dozen countries, mostly in Europe, have banned production
of the delicacy. "

EGG INDUSTRY TO DROP LOGO: (09/21/06): "The egg industry has agreed
to permanently drop "Animal Care Certified" logos on egg cartons,
after state officials and animal rights groups said consumers were
being misled. The industry has already replaced the logos, which now
read, "United Egg Producers Certified." The industry also agreed to
pay $100,000 to states for attorney fees, consumer education and other
costs. "A certification program must not be promoted in a way that
misleads consumers," said Robert J. Spagnoletti, attorney general for
the District of Columbia, which reached the agreement with 16 states
and United Egg Producers. States contended the old logo falsely
implied a higher level of care for hens. Spagnoletti released the
agreement Thursday. Last November, the egg group's decision to drop
the "Animal Care Certified" logo prompted the Federal Trade Commission
to stop reviewing a complaint from one animal rights group,
Maryland-based Compassion Over Killing. "

Gentle Thanksgiving 2006: "Gentle Thanksgiving is an effort to
encourage friends, family and neighbors to adopt compassionate
alternatives to unnecessarily cruel turkey dinners. We accomplish this
by demonstrating the great taste and superior nutrition of gourmet
vegetarian recipes and a variety of festive plant-based foods."